Lil Duke

Project Type

3D ANIMATION

2025

Lil Duke was entirely modelled in ZBrush. I acknowledge that modelling an organic shape for the first time presented some difficulties. Nevertheless, after learning more about the software, we were able to produce an elaborate, detailed creature that matched our character design.

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Personally, the texturing procedure was the project's highlight. Our goal was a blocky, painterly style. The process involved painting on normal maps in Substance Painter, creating sharp, painted edges. To make Lil Duke's texture resemble the constellation-lit night sky, I added an emissive layer and glittered the back with tiny luminous dots. In keeping with the adaptive characteristics of living in a pond, I also painted lily pads with a watercolor brush texture. 

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I created a leaf texture in Photoshop, transferred it to a cylinder in Maya, and then modified the geometry to resemble a canopy. Compared to simulating each tree leaf, it greatly increases process efficiency.

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Since Lil Duke is a nocturnal animal, we wanted the timing to be in the evening/night. Lil Duke will be swimming in the pond, so I want to make a spot light that shines on him. The audience's gaze should ideally gravitate toward the composition's center. The streaky/god rays effect shining on the pond's surface greatly supported this. In order to give the scene more dimension, I also added fog and bloom/glow effects. 

Modelling, Texturing Timelapse